O’Brien: Tale of a Comet : Preps: Westchester standout has blossomed into one of area’s best players.

For three years, LeRoi O’Brien was a 6-foot-8 underachiever:

As a ninth-grader at Inglewood High, he did not play basketball. Nor did he pass any classes. Describing himself, O’Brien said: “I was just a tall person walking around.”

His sophomore year, he transferred to Westchester, sat the bench on the Comets’ junior varsity team and ignored his homework with great consistency.

Last year, teammates were hesitant to throw him the basketball. He got scrub-time, less than 10 minutes a game.

But the 1991 LeRoi O’Brien, the new-and-improved version, has dominated the L.A. City Section 4-A Division playoffs. He has averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds in the first three round s to lead the Comets (21-7) into Friday’s 8:30 p.m. title game against defending champion Manual Arts (22-3) at the Sports Arena.

O’Brien’s progress bodes well for Pepperdine, which signed the senior center to an early letter of intent in November. However, basketball represents only half of the transformation. O’Brien got five A’s and a B on his last report card.

“One thing I remember about LeRoi, is that even in 10th grade, he’d be out shooting baskets after practice,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. “He’d still be shooting at 5 p.m. and 5:30, when I would leave. He lives down the street and would walk to school every morning dribbling the basketball, and go home every night dribbling the basketball. That’s the dedication you need to improve. He’s a great kid.”

O’Brien also has made impressive strides in his schoolwork.

“I work harder in the classroom than on the court,” he said. “I get into school now. Before, it was just something I did.”

A week ago, O’Brien had 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 71-65 semifinal victory over Crenshaw. Azzam and David Campbell, the Pepperdine assistant coach who recruited O’Brien, marvel at his potential, saying they realize O’Brien is still learning the game .

“I don’t think anyone expected him to dominate the way he has,” Azzam said.

Recruiters, though, suspected O’Brien was ready to blossom.

“We saw his potential last summer,” Campbell said. “Just by watching him run up and down, we said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get involved with him.’ He is not a big-time player in terms of skills. But in terms of explosiveness, athletic ability and potential, he definitely is.”

Said Azzam: “I cannot even guess how good he’ll be come September, because he’ll play and play and play.”

Amazingly, the lanky O’Brien did not begin playing basketball until his sophomore year. As a freshman, his mother, Althea O’Brien, did not want her son riding buses late at night, so he did not play at Inglewood.

He transferred to Westchester as a sophomore, but still was not going to play basketball until Zan Mason, a former Westchester standout and now a forward at UCLA, saw O’Brien in the hallways at school and encouraged him to try out.

“I could not make a free throw to save my life,” O’Brien said. “At the end of every practice, each player would have to make two free throws. I would always be there forever afterwards. But Coach Earl Brown used to stay there with me and try to help me.

“Teammates on the JV team used to make fun of me, but they’d still try to help me and Coach Brown always used to help me to get better.”

During the summer before his junior year, O’Brien attended two instructional camps and slowly made progress. But he was still a liability on the court.

“Ask any kid who played on last year’s team,” Azzam said. “They would not throw him the ball, and I couldn’t tell them otherwise because he was not going to catch it.

“The main thing for him was confidence.”

O’Brien again worked through the summer. He impressed scouts at one all-star camp with his speed, athleticism and coordination. By the start of his senior year, several colleges (Pepperdine, Utah, Cal State Long Beach, San Jose State, Cal State Fullerton and New Mexico) were calling.

A home visit by Wave Coach Tom Asbury and a visit to the Malibu campus sold O’Brien on Pepperdine. After three years of being a recruiting nonentity, O’Brien would now be considered a major prospect following his playoff performances.

“They’ve got to be just pleased to death to have him,” Azzam said of Pepperdine.

Said O’Brien: “When Coach Asbury came into my house, it was different. I think I had recruiters come to my house for three weeks straight, every day. The difference between him and all the others, all other recruiters would sit across the table, but he sat right next to me and said, ‘I want to get to know you.’ ”

Glitz and glamour did not matter to O’Brien.

“He was very concerned with how he would fit in, with the classes he’d be taking and getting along with the players,” Campbell said. “He’s a nice kid.”

That much is obvious. O’Brien makes it a point to give Westchester guards James Gray and Jason Sanders credit. He talks about how tough it is to play against 6-9 junior Marty Cotwright in practice. He makes sure you know that the four other starters on the team are underclassmen, and that the two other seniors on the team are good guys and good players.

Azzam says O’Brien always has been friendly and low-key. In fact, after beating Crenshaw to advance to the final, O’Brien got home, exhausted, and had to ask his mother to calm down because he wanted to sleep.

Westchester lost twice to Manual Arts in Western League play. In the second meeting, at Westchester, O’Brien scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Tonight, his mother will watch him play for one of the few times in his career. Althea works days as an accountant at a law firm in Century City, so she cannot make it to most of her son’s games and has not been able to watch his improvement firsthand.

“But after we win, she’s always on the phone for half the day to relatives,” O’Brien said. “Or if she sees my name in the paper she gets happy.”